


The De Flowering of William Thomas Compton

by Brazendale



Category: True Blood
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-02-13
Packaged: 2017-11-29 03:35:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/682280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brazendale/pseuds/Brazendale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Bill accompanies his Father on a business trip to New Orleans that will change his life and provide him with an experience and an education that he never expected nor could ever have dreamt of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

New Orleans in the eighteen fifties was a thriving and bustling port. It was already old, even by American terms, the area having been inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before the French then the Spanish then the French yet again and then finally it was sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. It had always been an important city in the history of the South and it was to become an important part in the history of William Thomas Compton.

Long after the French explorers, fur trappers and traders had arrived in the sixteen nineties to make their settlement amongst the Native American village of thatched huts, William and his father visited the environs and William's life changed forever.

The city had survived the deluge inflicted by the flood of eighteen forty nine when a levee up river had breached and the city had the worst flooding it had ever experienced up to that point in time, leaving twelve thousand souls homeless but bold and sassy, it had bounced back, it was that kind of city, one that could never be kept down and now, here was William, Bill he preferred to be called by all but his father, here he was in the midst of it all and he was enthralled. It was eighteen fifty two and the New Orleans and Jackson Railway had already been built and everything about the town was exciting.

Bill had just turned seventeen when his father had bought him on his first business trip, 'It's time for you to become a man' he had told him, as they packed and made ready to leave the sleepy little village of Bon Temps. For Bill this was to be the first real trip away from home, the farthest he had ever been. He had mixed feelings about leaving. While he was excited to be going on a real trip, seeing new things and experiencing all that was to offer in the historical port, he did have his reservations. He would miss his friends and miss the quiet serenity of his beloved farm and miss one very special person that he had given his heart to.

His father had said little about the nature of the business that they would be doing, their farm, although small in comparison to the large plantations of some neighbours such as the Bellefleurs, was larger and substantially more successful than that of their immediate neighbours the Stackhouse's smaller holdings and much more affluent than the poorer cracker families that seemed to subsist on their meagre few acres of land, supplementing their incomes by fishing the bayous and even trapping gators for their skins.

No, Bill had no complaints as far as his place in life. He was young, respected amongst his peers, looked up to by the church elders as an example of a fine young god fearing lad and he had the heart of more than one of the local girls in the parish who giggled and blushed when he looked their way with the finest pair of blue eyes in the county. He was strong of body, being lean and tanned from the work on the farm, learned, for there was nothing that he enjoyed more than sitting in some quiet place reading one of his many historical or mythological tomes and he was gently spoken, courteous and humble. There were very few families in the area that did not have their hopes set on snaring him for their unmarried daughters.

Bill and his father had arrived late on the previous night so he had not seen much of the city on their way to their hotel and the following day had been taken up with an appointment in a dusty and dry solicitor's office, his father engaged in setting up a trust for Bill and his sister and, in the making of a will. The day had been long and boring, the young man had been a little perplexed that his father had seen it necessary to bring him along only to be kept sitting in an outer office for hours and excluded from any of the formalities. It was getting on for evening before finally, his father emerged smiling to tell his son they would be going back to the hotel to bathe before having some dinner then going to yet another appointment.

Bill sighed and wondered what kind of business could be accomplished so late in the evening but he knew better than to question his father, he had learnt at an early age that an enquiring mind was not necessarily something that his father respected and at times it could lead to a whooping of the extremes, the lesson being learnt the hard way when, after being inspired by reading Dickens Oliver Twist and the poverty that the children experienced, he decided that hen and his gang of cronies should all only eat gruel to experience what it is like to be poor.

His father, misunderstanding his motives and thinking that he was playing at mocking the unfortunates of the world, promptly gave him a sound thrashing and sent him to bed without supper and without asking for an explanation. Bill's father was mortified when he later learnt of his young sons motives and was proud of the fact that he had such a thoughtful and compassionate offspring but the lesson had been learnt as far as Bill was concerned and it stayed with him all his adult human life and beyond; compassion comes with a price and you have to really believe in what you think is right to endure the consequences of your actions.

Returning to the hotel they bathed then adjourned to the dining room for dinner. Sitting at a table for two in the large formal room, Bill was interested by the other patrons also dining there. Men in rich broadcloth jackets, tailored to perfection, accompanying ladies in watered down silks of all colours and styles, their tiny waists shown off to perfection by the current mode of fashion, their ample bosoms not going unnoticed to the young man's eyes. He had never seen so many beautiful people in any one room in his whole life.

Had he known it he would not have believed it, but he cut quite a figure of dashing manhood him self. One thing that his father had always made sure of was that the Compton family were always well turned out and on this particular trip he had made sure that Bill was immaculate. Dressed in a black well cut jacket that fitted the young Bill's lean muscular body to perfection, the white silk embroidered waist coat over the delicately ruffled silk shirt emphasised his deep tan and set his blue eyes sparkling. His tightly fitted fashionable breaches made many a woman blush as they left nothing to the imagination and although Bill knew that he was larger than the other boys in his gang, he was not ashamed of nature's blessings but at times he was embarrassed by it.

Yes, he was the perfect example of Southern manhood and on this particular night his father was more than proud to have such a fine son. Only his father knew just what an important night in the young Bill's life this would be and his mind wandered off to a similar night, many years ago now, when his own father had embarked him on a course that had set him up for life. It was time, he sat thinking, yes Bill was ready he nodded to himself.

Hailing a carriage outside the hotel, Bill and his father sat back and enjoyed the warm night air as they journeyed through the streets full of the life and lustre of the city. Bill had noticed that the carriage driver had given his father a nod and wink towards him when he had quietly spoken the address of their destination but as he did not have any idea of where they were going, he just sat back and enjoyed the ride through the bustling streets as they twisted and turned here and there, leaving the uptown precincts and making their way through the French quarters until finally arriving at the door of an brightly coloured building, lace work gleaming in the lamp light.

Bills father uncharacteristically patted his son's back as they walked up to the door and waited to gain admittance. Bill was not prepared for the sight that greeted him when the door was opened by a large ornately dressed Creole gentleman, resplendent in an out fit that could quite easily have been straight out of one of the stories of his One Thousand and One Tales of the Arabian Nights book that he had loved reading secretly as a child while sitting hidden away in the attic.

Flowing with purple, crimson and emerald green silks, feathered plumes waving from a golden turban, the door man ushered them in nodding and smiling, his thick golden earring swinging against his rouged cheek. 'Gentlemen, if you will follow me' he lisped, his French accent thick and unmistakeable as he waved his hand towards a set of double doors. 'Madame will be here shortly.'

Bill had glanced askance at his father when he had been stunned by the appearance of the doorman and now, upon entering the room they had been shown into, his young face had been a picture of questions. He had never seen such a place as this. The room was a visual extravagance of extreme proportions, filled with furniture that seemed to belong to another world, plush expensive and rich, all complementing the ruby red and gold embossed wall paper. Potted palms were scattered about in clusters affording the deep velvet lounges privacy for a tête-à-tête between clients and their hosts. Lit by carved figures of men and women in the throes of love making love, holding cleverly sculptured candles replicating flames, as if their very act had set them on fire, the subtle light only added to the atmosphere. The ambience of the room overwhelmed the young man.

'Sit down lad' his father had said breaking the silence as Bill sank down into one of the many sofas and looked around the room in amazement. Oil paintings hung around the room, each one themed to show a particular scene from history but this was not the kind of history that Bill had ever studied when reading his books. Ancient Rome with its nightly groupings of nakedness on one wall hung opposite a depiction of a Salome and her dance of the seven veils. There was a painting of a masked ball at the Carnival of Venice that made Bill blush with its explicit portrayals of acts that in his naïveté, he was not even sure what he was seeing and as for the scene from Ancient Egypt, he could not bare to look at it in the presence of his father, although inwardly his excitement was aroused. He sat blushing in an agony of embarrassment.

The door opened quietly as all this passed through his mind, along with many other thoughts such as why had his father bought him here and what were they doing in such a place as this. Bill was naïve but he did live on a farm and was surrounded by nature. From a youngster he had been used to seeing the farm animals coupling and he had read a lot of books plus some of the other lads had told him of their experiences, but he had never experienced laying with a girl in the biblical sense.

He had always thought that he would remain unsullied until the marital bed where he had hoped that he would know what to do. His thoughts were the normal thoughts of every boy that grows into a man, the stirring of his loins coming to him from an early age. He had thought that perhaps as he had been blessed as he called it with such a man hood, that somehow he would be able to overcome his lack of experience when he took the love of his life Caroline to be his wife. No one knew of his hopes and dreams other than the other party mentioned for they had secretly been courting since they were children really, he had never had the courage to make his feelings known to his Papa so his secret for his future was his and Caroline's alone.

Bill had watched the pigtailed tom boy turn from one of the annoying giggling girls that followed the boys around out of spite just to aggravate them, into a beautiful and graceful young lady. The first real inkling that he had of her newly developed woman hood he had discovered the day he had accidentally seen her skinny dipping in the local watering hole. It was a day he would never forget for it was the first time his real desires became apparent, the first truly meaningful arousal had led him to perform an act that he felt nothing but shame for. When later he learnt from his closest friends that it was normal, the relief that he felt was enormous and for quiet some time after that, books and his reading were abandoned for other interests that he found more fulfilling.

Now here he was sitting in this place with its tantalising visions and with his father and wondering why, as he watched a small diminutive well dressed lady enter and immediately greet Papa with a kiss to both cheeks. 'Oh la, Monsieur Compton' she beamed, genuinely pleased to see him. 'And oh, who do we have here?' she asked as she made her way over to where Bill was standing upon her entrance. 'No, let me guess. La Pere he brings his son, there can be no mistaking the likeness' she enthused as her eyes ran over Bill's body, stopping for just one fleeting moment on his groin as though sizing up more than the facial likeness between the father and son. Bill turned a beet red.

'William, I want you to meet an old friend of mine, Madame Michelle. Michelle this is my boy William.' he said with pride. Bill bowed over her extended hand and kissed it politely, noticing how very soft her skin was and the faint fragrance of lemon verbena wafting from her reminded him comfortingly of his late Mother and how she smelt on Sundays on their way to church in her best finery. 'Madame, pleased to meet you' he responded politely.

'Enchante Guillaume' she said breaking into French before turning to address his father. 'So la Pere brings me his son, I am touched at your trust' she spoke warmly, her eyes glittering with tears. 'You remember' she said softly, the years seeming to fall away from her face and Bill noticed for the first time since she had come into the room that really when younger, she would have been an extraordinarily good looking woman, she was still beautiful now he was thinking as he watched her and it seemed to him that his father too looked younger and less worn by time.

'Come, tell me' she said as she took his father's arm and walked him towards the other end of the large room leaving Bill to ponder how his father came to know such an exotic creature. Lowering their voices as they joined in conversation, Bill's father began. 'He is ready Michelle. He is a good lad and will be a fine man. I want him to have the best, I do not want….' she interrupted him 'You do not want his experience to taint him? I understand' she said knowingly. 'No one too harsh' he went on but at the same time not someone just come from the farm, it must be someone who can teach him, someone with experience but also with a heart. If you were only…' 'If I was but twenty years younger?' she laughed 'ah but they were the good times my friend' she smiled nostalgically at him.

He looked at her. 'You taught me and I would have someone like you for my William, someone with a heart as big as yours.' He leant over and kissed her hand. 'You make me feel young again' and she gently touched his cheek. 'I have just the girl to show your William the ways to a woman's heart. How long are you in town?' she asked. 'I am here for as long as it takes.' She nodded 'that will depend on how quick a learner he is. You my friend' she smirked, 'now you, you were a very quick learner.'

Bill could not hear what was being said but he saw his father kiss Michelle's hand and watched amazed as she brushed his cheek now. As he watched his father he raised his eye brows at the sight of him blushing. Never in his whole life had he seen his father act like this however he did not have long to think this over because the two of them then walked back to where he was sitting. 'If you will excuse me for one moment, William there is someone that your father and I would like you to meet. I will only be one moment.'

Unbeknown to Bill, it was quiet common in those times for the wealthier and more sophisticated families to take their sons to certain houses for an education that was not available in school. The men of the families new the importance of keeping their women folk happy for it was left up to the women to see to the day to day running of the large farms and plantation households so anything that could be done to help a successful marriage along the way was looked at as being purely sensible and that included instruction in the pleasuring of a woman's needs so consequently, there were discrete establishments that catered for just this kind of tuition. The women there were of a better class than the sleazy run of the mill bordellos and whore houses that were in every major city, no these establishments catered for the genteel sons of the landed gentry and often a father would bring a son only to return years later with a grandson in tow. It was not talked of in polite circles and it was unknown to most women folk but it was a fact of life.

Michelle was true to her word and she returned with the most beautiful girl that Bill had ever seen. 'William this is Fleur, Fleur this is William and he would like to become better acquainted with you' she said placing Fleur's delicately small hand in his. Bill looked at his father, his mouth opening to speak but before he could say a word his father patted him on the back again and gave him a slight push towards the door as Fleur led Bill hand in hand through the room.

Reaching the door, Bill looked over his shoulder at his father standing watching him. Much to his surprise he saw tears in his eyes but also a look of hope and pride. Bill swallowed hard as he began to have a suspicion of what was a foot. He had never felt as scared or excited in his whole short life as he walked out that door and, hand in hand, Fleur led him up stairs to a bed room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Bill finds a friend and confident in Fleur, sharing his heart with her and finding compassion for his hopes and dreams in his unexpected new friend.

Bill's breath was coming a little short and his legs trembled as he walked along the hallway with Fleur. They passed room after room with closed doors as she held his hand in hers, the heat from her soft skin affecting his senses. He had never been completely alone with a girl, not even his secret sweetheart Caroline, well not since they had become adults and aware of their affection for each other. They had gone on church picnics and been to the small soirées that were held in the parish but they had always been chaperoned as was fitting for young people in those times, whispering their shared devotion for each and secret plans for a life together, so to be totally alone and holding Fleur's hand was something that Bill was not entirely prepared for.

When she stopped at a door leading into a large room that doubled as a living come bedroom, he hesitated a little. She smiled up at him shyly saying 'I must apologise William, unfortunately Madame Michelle has forgotten that the parlour is occupied and as she has been kind enough to allow me a small parlour in my room I thought that perhaps we could visit here,' casting her eyes down demurely. Bill was a little tongue tied between the situation and Fleur's beauty and he was a little lost for words. 'I hope that you won't think the lesser of me for inviting you in' she continued, looking up at him with her eyes gazing into his, seeking his approval of her suggestion. 'Why no, Fleur I … I would like that' he said softly, his voice was barely more than a whisper.

When Bill entered the room it was nothing like that large room he had been in down stairs with his father. That had been plush and rich in the extreme; a place of sophistication and colour where as the room that Fleur led him into was different entirely. It was furnished in all white, the walls were all white and the coverings and curtains were all white. It had a very French feeling to it, very provincial in style, elegant and delicate. It was just like Fleur, Bill thought as he looked around the room and for the first time he noticed that she too was dressed in white. Why he had not noticed before he didn't know, perhaps it was because of her very beautiful face that he had failed to see the whole picture of her beauty but now as his gaze went from around the room and back to her, he looked at her as though for the first time.

Bill was now noticing the details of the dress she had on. Unlike the fashion of the times this did not have the cinched in waist that was so popular with the ladies of the day, this was more like the fashion in his historical accounts of the Emperor Napoleon and Empress Josephine. It was long and flowing from just underneath the bust line and oh, the neckline it was low and surrounded by tiny ruffles of exquisite lace. Ribbons too cascaded down the front from where they held together the centre of the bodice. Bill began to get hot as he noticed her ample breasts seeming to almost over flow and then, as he could not help but notice, the fabric of the dress seemed to be transparent, the light from the multitude of candles scattered throughout the room lighting her silhouette and leaving nothing to the imagination.

Bill swallowed hard again and tried desperately not to stare as she stood there looking at him, her legs slightly apart and lit from behind, but as hard as he tried he was drawn either to her or just as embarrassingly, he was drawn to the sight of the very large four poster bed standing to the side of the room. He felt a stirring in his loins and he gritted his teeth and looked down at the floor. Sensing his distress Fleur was at his side, her hand on his arm gently stroking it. 'What is it William, what is wrong?' she was asking concerned.

'I… I have never been alone with a girl before' he said shyly, embarrassed by his admission 'and I have a …' he trailed off unable to tell this sweetest of strangers about Caroline, his sweet heart and his hopes for securing her heart. Fleur looked up at him with comprehension. 'Come, sit with me and tell me. You have something you are keeping secret that not even your father knows of, is that it?' she was asking intuitively. 'William, I want us to be friends so please, if you would like it, you could tell me a little of yourself then, as friends do we can help each other to overcome our burdens and trust each other.'

Bill thought her to be the sweetest of things to be so understanding of his position. They sat on the soft sofa, Fleur holding his hand encouraging and comforting him as he told her of his love for Caroline, how as children they had played together, how he had been horrible as a boy dipping her pigtails in the ink well at school and getting a scolding from the teacher for it. Then as they grew older she had become a tom boy, climbing trees and playing sling shots with just as deadly accuracy as all the other boys but then, he told her how everything had changed the day he had been on his way home from an errand for his mother when he decided it was too hot to hurry and detoured to the local Bon Temps lake for a swim.

It was there on that day that he had seen Caroline naked jumping in and out of the water and swimming about, her body now growing to that of a young woman, her breasts the first that he had ever seen without clothing and much to his surprise, he had told her of the affect that it had on him, not in detail mind you, modesty forbade that but the implication of his subtle referral to the results was plain. He could not look her in the eye as he told her of such despicable things, he felt ashamed of himself even referring to something so base to such a girl but she had made him feel so very comfortable and concerned that he had felt it to be safe to speak to her of it and to unburden his heart.

'I guess from that moment onwards my heart has been hers and I have never really thought of another since then until … well,' he stopped, 'Until tonight' she finished. 'William I am not here to steal your heart, your heart belongs to another just as mine does but perhaps we can be of comfort to one another while we wait patiently for the day to come when we can be with our loved ones' she said gently.

Bill looked at Fleur and noticed how young she looked, she could not have been much older than seventeen or eighteen and although in that day and age that was considered to be a reasonable age for marriage, some girls even marrying at sixteen or younger, she had a youthful face that had not yet lost the sparkle of the very young. She was kind, sympathetic and she understood him and he liked her, he liked her a lot.

He was looking into her eyes as she said this, reading the sincerity behind her words and she was right, he was feeling comforted enough to unburden himself of his secrets, it was a relief not to have to worry or be judged and he felt safe with Fleur. She gently stroked his face in response to his look and he felt the tenderness in her touch but he felt something more and again he was taken by a wave flooding through him, his loins responding, he could not help himself as he looked down at her breasts so close to him. They were sitting so closely now that he could feel the heat of her body through her thin muslin gown and between that and her touch; he was fairly on fire despite himself.

He looked down ashamed of the tent in his breaches, embarrassed beyond belief but her eyes, following his down to the bulge did not falter, if anything there was a flickering of delight in her response. Gently she cupped his face in her hand and turned his head to face her. He couldn't bring himself to look at her but she was insistent, she tilted his face up to hers and leant in to him until merely inches away before softly saying, 'It is all right, please do not be ashamed, I am flattered, very flattered. Trust me William, please trust me.'

Fleur's hair was swept up on to the top of her head with small tendrils loosely flowing down around her face, exposing her delicate neck and Bill reached out and ran his fingers through the silky strands. 'Take your clips out' he almost whispered. Taking out the combs that held her hair in place, he ran his fingers through the silky softness, spreading the golden halo around her shoulders and down her back. He seemed to be fascinated by it.

Bill hesitated slightly, then with heart pounding he slowly moved his face, leaning in to barely brush her wet lips. He was afraid, he was so afraid that she would think him forward and pull back horrified but his fears were not realised, instead he felt her falling into his arms, pressing her lips to his then she parted her mouth and with the slightest of touches ran the tip of her tongue lightly along his lips. It was a sensation totally new to Bill and never dreamt of, the affect sending a tingling sensation to the very roots of his hair and waves of excitement crashing through him.

He opened his mouth a little and Fleur slid her tongue in to meet his, teasing him with just the tip. William's heart rate soared at her touch, his hardened staff pounding with a life of its own and when she very deliberately deepened the kiss and moved his hand up to cup her breast, he gave an audible moan. His mouth was locked to hers now, exploring her delights and wallowing in the sensations running through his body. He had never dreamt of doing such a thing with Caroline, his inexperience in such matters so very obvious to him now.

She had placed his sensuous hand on her breast but he had not moved it, he was too involved in the kiss to venture any further so without breaking away from his mouth, she gently moved his hand guiding it under the many layers of lace ruffles until his fingers moulded softly to the shape of her skin, then very gently she gave a squeeze. She felt the hard muscles of his chest draw in his breath as he felt her soft flesh in his hand and instinctively his tongue began to move with an unmistakeable rhythm.

Fleur was no virgin but she was also no toughened prostitute. Bill had been right in his thoughts, she was only barely eighteen and not that much older than him. She came from a loving family and had an education and the only reason that she had found herself in the position that she was in was purely due to misfortune. The flood that had caused so much havoc two years earlier had not only taken with it the family home but also the lives of her parents, her older brother and her younger sister. In the blink of an eye she had lost everything and every one including her neighbours and her community. She had no family to turn to and no one to help her. She was alone until she was found by Madame Michelle and taken in.

For Fleur, this was her salvation and Madame was her guardian angel. Unlike so many other unfortunates, she had a roof over her head, an income of sorts and she was safe, Antoine the gentle giant on the door protecting his girls for the Madame like a mother hen. The girls at the home, as they fondly referred to the establishment, knew that they were also very lucky in one other respect, the clientele were all gentlemen and on the very rare occasion that a girl did not like the look of a client or found some request to be of too unsavoury a nature, then they only had to call for Antoine and that person would generally find himself somewhere down near the banks of the river the next morning in a very embarrassing state of undress and feeling much worse for wear. It was noted that it would never occur again and the gent in question always without fail, made sure to apologise profusely. It did not do to offend the Madame, she had friends in high places.

From the moment that she had seen Bill, William as she preferred to think of him, she had been taken by him. In her eyes it was not just merely the fact that he was one of the most attractive lads that she had ever seen, nor was it the fact that she could tell by just by looking over his body the extent of his manly attributes, no there was something else about young William, something hidden and waiting to come out. She didn't know why but she felt there was more to him and that given time, he would become a leader, he had almost a humble nobility about him that one day she felt would be known. She thought that she may have been fanciful in thinking this and perhaps she was just smitten by his looks but either way, he was someone that she would enjoy meeting and she wanted to take care of him, to nurture him and to help him live his potential to the fullest.

She broke away from his kiss to look at him and to take his other hand and place it on the ribbons of her bodice. His voice quavered a little as he asked tentatively 'May I?' and rather shyly for her, she simply nodded as his eyes lit up in expectation. Under normal circumstances Fleur did not really feel for her clients, oh she acted her part very well but it was without any real emotions on a personal level. With William it was different. William's excitement was infectious. His lean body with its substantial proportions was more than enough to arouse her but combined with his sweet and trusting innocence, despite herself she was silky for him, wet and wanting to feel him inside her. She was throbbing for him in fact, and that was something that she did not normally feel.

Carefully withdrawing his hand from beneath the fabric of her dress, his nimble fingers undid the ribbons of her bodice one by one until her ample breasts peeped out of the muslin and lace. Bill closed his eyes at the sight before him, trying very hard to keep himself in check when he looked at her hardened nipples stiffened into raspberry mounds begging to be sucked. He was pink with the thought of what his body was telling him and embarrassed as all hell at the thoughts going through his mind.

                                                                                       

 

As if she could read his very thoughts, she wrapped her hand around his neck and drew him into her, guiding his mouth to first one nipple then the other as he instinctively sucked and gently licked each one. Fleur's breath was coming in pants now, her eyes closed as she let her self go to the sensations of his lips and tongue as he teased her, following his instincts that were just so right in every sense of the word.

She began to move her body against him, as he held her breasts in his hands and softly squeezed then trailing kisses up her neck, he again clamped his mouth to hers, the sense of urgency becoming stronger in both of them.

Bill's tongue found a rhythm to match Fleur's undulating body, teasing and exploring her mouth again. He could not get enough. He had never dreamt that what he could do with his tongue could be so exciting. He had never thought that a girl would be willing to do the same things and want the same things as he did. His sensuality had been awoken and like a dam that had burst, he knew there was no turning back.

Then, just as he thought that nothing could feel as exciting as this, he found that he was totally mistaken as he felt Fleur's small hand moving slowly across his hips before running along the length of his shaft. It was the first time that he had ever had anyone do that to him and he felt himself jump at the mere touch of her hand through his pants, gasping loudly, and when she began to rub him, he thought that he would not be able to hold him self back, he was so hard and so very excited that he thought his man hood would break through the tightly stretched fabric.

Fleur too was having a battle with her emotions. She knew that the whole purpose of William being there was to de flower him and for his future instruction but he had awoken a desire in her too that she was fighting to control. When she had touched him and run her hand along him, feeling how well endowed he was and how very ready to take her, she too had throbbed in response, her body just as ready for him as he was for her.

'William' she said into his mouth as he continued to kiss her. 'Hmm' he mumbled unwilling to break the kiss. 'William' she said more urgently as his mouth was still clamped to hers, his tongue working his magic for both of them while his fingers continued to tease her nipples, barely skimming them before again cupping her softly, feeling her breasts, playing with them and holding them. Boldly for him he took her hand and rubbed himself with it again. 'William please' she gasped as she finally broke away. He looked at her as they both sat panting with pounding hearts. 'Take me, make love to me,' she seduced him softly.

Bill's heart was in his mouth and he trembled. He had waited for so long for this day to come, the day that he would become a man but right at that moment that was the last thing that he felt like. He was still a boy and despite how very much he wanted nothing more than to feel Fleur's hot flesh around him, he was terrified.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fleur begins Bill's education in earnest as they form a special connection.

'Take me, make love to me' Fleur was whispering, her eyes luminous as she stood and took Bill's hand, pulling him to his feet. Trembling with nerves and excitement he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him, there bodies finally meeting, her soft flesh melting in his arms as his hands ran down her back exploring the contours of the tantalising outlines he had glimpsed through her dress and had left his young imagination in a fever of desire. Unable to help himself now, his need for her so strong, he slipped his hands under her buttocks and crushed her to his young body wanting her to feel his stiffened manhood against her. Wanting and hoping to set her body on fire just as much as his was.

He was pressing against her now, not really knowing what he was doing but just simply going with his instincts. She could feel him through her flimsy dress, feel his length and it had the desired effect that he had hoped, firing her even more than she had been. Slipping her hands behind her back she took his hands and moved them as far as she could up towards the tiny buttons at the back of her dress. He was thrilled to think that she wanted him to undress her and as he began to undo each button, she slipped her hands into his jacket and sliding them up his chest, she eased it off his shoulders, dropping it carefully on to chaise lounge next to them, his embroidered vest following the way of his jacket. She then undid each of his shirt buttons and pulling the silk fabric out of his breaches, it too joined the rest on the lounge.

Bill was struggling a little with the tiny pearl buttons, his haste making him unusually clumsy but his eager persistence was rewarded when finally, he was able to set her free from the dress and it slid to the floor at her feet in a pool of white froth leaving her standing there in nothing more than her corsets, pantaloons and beribboned black stockings with rosebud pink silk garters. He stood still for a moment as she ran her hands through the light sprinkling of downy fluff that had seemed to appear recently on his chest. He had been at pains to cover up, embarrassed by his burgeoning manhood as most of the other lads did not seem to be as advanced in puberty as he was and he had thought that girls would be horrified by his body hair and other things, but here was Fleur revelling in it, curling his fur as he liked to refer to it, delicately around her tiny fingers.

She then began to kiss his firm chest and before he realised what she was doing she was sucking his nipples just as gently as he had hers. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open, his mind was open too, to the sensation and he loved it. He pressed her head closer to him, wanting her to continue her teasing but she too had needs that she couldn't ignore and she broke away from his embrace and turning her back to him she whispered over her shoulder 'Undo my lacings.'

Bill hurriedly began to undo the bows that kept the lacings fastened and with his long fingers, it did not take long to undo the strings and loosen the constricting whalebones, letting it fall to the floor and leaving her standing there in nothing more than her filmy gossamer silken shimmy. Emboldened now, he ran his hands up under the fabric and began to massage some feeling back into her skin where the tight stays had cut into her and left welts. She turned around to face him and looked up into his eyes. They were lust filled and sparkling.

She ran her hands down his chest kneading his muscles as she went, her hands caressing the sculptures of his body until reaching his waist band, she undid his belt and began to struggle with the buttons of his fly. Bill stood perfectly still, he would not have been able to move even if he had chosen to, he was paralysed with his desires, secretly wanting her to hurry, begging her in his mind to touch him, to hold him and to do other things to him that he was too ashamed to admit to. Slipping her hands into his breaches and wrapping them around his hips, she slid them over his firm buttocks and down his legs, his manhood springing free and up right against his flat stomach. She gasped at the size of him, she couldn't help herself and he blushed crimson, misinterpreting her reaction.

She took a step or two backwards and stood still, staring at him. He was dying a thousand deaths under her gaze until with a husky voice she whispered to him 'You are beautiful William.' She stepped forward again and with the lightest of touches she caressed him gently, almost reverently. Bill's legs went weak and he knew he had to sit down but he also knew he wanted other things and he was in such a state now that he threw caution to the wind, and losing all his former timidity, he picked her up in his strong arms, kicked off his breaches and carried her to the bed.

Once lying there, he kneeled on the bed at her feet and with one swift tug he took her pantaloons off before he slipped his hands beneath her shimmy and lifted it over her head to toss it on the floor headless of where it landed. Other than seeing Caroline in the distance at the swimming hole, this was the first time that he had seen a naked woman and definitely the first time he had been close enough to touch one. He had looked at anatomy books hidden away up in the attic and guiltily pictured what it must be like to see a girl in the flesh but now as he looked down at Fleur lying there his courage deserted him but his desires didn't.

Fleur felt for him, she knew too plainly how a virginal need and desire burnt through you but at the same time was mixed with apprehension, embarrassment and unquenchable need. She saw it on the faces of all her pupils but Bill's face was different. Oh yes he had the look of one so young, yearning with desire, eager if not desperate to taste the ultimate of pleasures but it was mixed with something else, it was tinged with dignity and humility. Despite his very real desires he was still hesitant to act upon his need without first being sure that it had her approval. As he kneeled palpably desperate for her, he staid his actions and looked to her for her consent, without it no matter what, he would not have laid a finger on her.

Reaching her small hand out to him, she took his hand and pulled him firmly to her, moving her legs a little wider to allow him to lay on her. He had not taken his eyes off her as he leant forward and, taking his weight on his strong arms, his body came together with hers. He lay looking down at her, the innocence of his face nearly broke her heart, and his mouth was slightly open as if to speak, but he could get no words out now that his body was laying on hers, the soft contours of her flesh moulding against him and the heat of her skin burning a fire through him.

She looked up at him and saw the question in his beautiful sapphire eyes that he just couldn't bring himself to ask. Overcome by the moment, all she could do was give a small nod and reaching down, she took his length in her hand and guided him into her silky hot folds. He lay perfectly still, not that he did not want to move, his body was screaming out to be fulfilled but he wanted to savour this moment, to remember it for as long as he lived. He knew that he would never feel this again and he wanted to store the memory as something that he would look back on in years to come.

She did not want to rush him, as a teacher she wanted him to remember his first as an overwhelmingly pleasurable experience and so she was patient but unlike with other pupils, she really was feeling a need for him. She was wet and she was silky and she wanted him almost as much as she had ever wanted anyone in her life with the exception of her own private lover and sweetheart. She was surprised by her feelings, she had not expected to ever feel this way for any of her clients but William was different and he was special.

 

                                                        

They were staring into each others eyes when she gave him a tiny reassuring smile, so sweet and tender that it went through him and touched his heart. Very slowly and gently he trust into her a little and when she did not recoil in horror or squirm with discomfort as he half expected, he moved a little more forcefully and gently lent down and kissed her sweet mouth. She lifted her hips to meet him and began to move encouragingly with each of his motions and he deepened his kiss.

He was shaking now, his trembling body against hers exciting her and combining with his thrusts, she was on the verge of reaching her peak. She wrapped her legs around him and the shift in her position sent him into a spiral, his thrusts deeper now, his excitement could not be held back. He was coming, he could feel it now and he could not stop himself and Fleur could sense it too and thrust hard against him. Then suddenly Bill was flying, sparks of gold flew through a background of white light, his body was shaking with spasm after spasm rippling through him, spilling his seed into her as she too came and flew with him into a thrilling spiral of ecstasy.

'Did, did I hurt you? Have I …' he swallowed as he lay still within her panting, her groans of pure delight, in his naïveté, mistaken for pain. 'No' she whispered huskily, her voice shaky, 'no, you were perfect.' He rolled off her but not before kissing her lips, her cheeks, her eyes and her hair, then he lay on his side gazing down at her, still panting, tiny electric shocks shooting through him and making him twitch as she lay with his arm now wrapped around her. Tears sprang from the corners of his eyes. 'Thank you' he whispered into her mouth as he kissed her tenderly 'thank you.' The sincerity that flooded out of him with so very much tenderness touched her to her core.

'Was I all right? I mean…' Bill didn't quite know how to put it and he was not sure if it was even the right thing to ask a girl after they had made love but some how it was really important to him to know that she too had enjoyed it. He smiled a little to himself as the thought passed through his mind, the words 'after they had made love' thrilling him and pleasing him no end. 'William, I meant what I said, you were utterly perfect.' He looked at her hard, trying to decide if she was telling him the truth or just being nice, she was so very nice he thought to himself but he wanted to know the truth, it mattered to him. 'You were wonderful, trust me I really mean it' she smiled at him.

'Will it get better? I mean' he chose his words carefully 'is it always like this?' he asked her eager to learn more now that he had his first experience under his belt so to speak. 'It will be different when you do it with your sweetheart and no, it is not always like this. There has to be a spark' she said dreamily looking into his eyes sweetly smiling at him, 'a recognition of something between you for you to feel a true connection, to feel really touched when you…do it or otherwise,' he interrupted her 'Otherwise it would not mean anything, why it would be just like eating or drinking, just something that you had to do to survive. Is that what you mean?' he asked her interested in everything that she was telling him.

'Yes, you need to feel for that person to really touch the special kind of connection you can feel. Just doing it for the sake of doing it does have it's rewards' she smiled a little, 'but it leaves you empty and hollow in the long run.' He thought for a moment as he looked at her 'You have to care a little or a lot to feel this good' he smiled and nodded to himself. Yes that made sense he was thinking. He had been drawn to her by more than just the thought of lying with her. Bill was a naïve boy off the farm but he was sensible and was already a wise judge of character, even though he did not realise it yet and he had instantly felt trust for this sweet, gentle girl. She was not that different to him and he had recognised that immediately.

He brushed away a silken strand of her hair that had fallen across her face. To him she looked like a beautiful angel laying there, her face still flushed with the soft after glow of their exertions. He ran the back of his fingers down her cheek ever so tenderly and took her face in his hand and kissed her softly. 'You are so very beautiful Fleur. Would … could I' even though his confidence had soared he was still a little hesitant, 'I want to lay with you again' he blurted out.

She smiled at him and rolled him on his back, throwing her leg over him as she mounted him. Fleur knew that he would be unquenchable, that the first act now over and done with would only serve to awaken a thirst in him that would not be quenched with just one act. Bill's heart began to race, he had never expected this, as he looked up at her. 'Let me teach you how to pleasure a woman William' she said huskily, 'lie still and I will show you.' Her words excited him, he was totally under her spell as she laid her lithe body over his, her breasts teasing him as she fell forward.

Cupping her breast she held it to him. He needed no encouragement, already he had a skill that impressed her but as he looked up into her eyes longingly, she began to undulate against him, teasing him with her body, making him want her even more than he had thought that he possibly could. When she felt that he was ready and could not hold back any more, she reached behind her and took his throbbing shaft in her hand and slid him into her. He gave a small thrust and sighed, then much to his surprise, she sat upright and began to move up and down on his hardened manhood.

The feeling for Bill was indescribable. He lay there mesmerised as he watched her body, unable to take his eyes of her. The way her breasts moved with her undulations was enough to make him lose his seed but as she moved he watched her sweetness taking him in her and he was throbbing so much with excitement that he was moaning soft little grunts with each of her thrusts down onto him.

'William' she said breathlessly now, 'I want you to move for me, I want you to spike me.' He had heard his cronies talk of 'spiking a girl' but the thrill that shot through him to hear her say it, to hear the want in her voice, it fired him. He began to move for her and it did not take him long to develop a rhythm that matched hers. Just as he thought that he could not hold his seed back, she slowed right down, raising herself slowly then gently gliding down on to him again as he thrust into her very core.

Again and again she moved, slowing the pace as his thrusts became deeper and deeper, filling her with a desire to match his, every prolonged moment an agony and an ecstasy of desire building into something that was like a dam that soon neither of them would be able to hold back.

Fleur could read the expression on his face as plain as a book and knew when he was close to coming again. She had slowed him right down only to build him right back up, prolonging the act to take him to the next height. She looked at his face, a mixture of tender longing and passionate desire. It nearly broke her heart with his beauty, a ripple of desire so strongly running through her that she was sure he felt the contraction. He gasped a little and she began to move with purpose, never taking her eyes off his.

Within moments she felt her muscles begin to cave and he felt it too. Watching her face as her mouth opened, her wet lips parted in her moment of ecstasy pushed him over and loosing his seed, he too had the very same expression as she wore had he known it.

She fell forward onto him, her body wracked with spasms, her breath coming in ragged pants. 'You are wonderful William' she panted as she lay on him, her hands running up his chest stroking him tenderly, 'simply wonderful.' Bill swelled with pride and gratitude for her patience with him. He felt ten feet tall at her words and was amazed that he could make this sweet angelic girl feel like this, him, plain old Bill Compton had pleasured this most beautiful girl that he had ever seen.

He shook his head, he was overwhelmed with the multitude of feelings going through him but one thing he did know, out of all the mixed emotions he was feeling, he had never felt so happy in his entire life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the morning after glow of young Bill's first experience, he shares more than just a bed with the caring and nurturing Fleur, he shares his heart, his hopes and his dreams.

Bill's eyes opened and for a moment he had no idea of where he was until he became aware of the soft warm body lying in his arms, pressed tightly against him. He smiled to himself a little as he realised that it had not all been just a dream, he had really lain with a girl. He had done it with a girl. His smile quickly broadened into a grin as he picked out details of the previous night's memories. His chest swelled with pride at the thought and that was not the only thing the memories of the night had stirred.

'Good morning' Fleur murmured to him, softly kissing his shoulder as she lay in the crook of his arm. 'How are you feeling?' she asked as she lifted the soft sheet covering them to peek down his body and gave a wickedly naughty little giggle, 'oh William I can see exactly how you are feeling.' 'Can I show you how I am feeling?' he smirked a little as he quickly rolled her on her back and mounted her. 'Why William, that would be lovely' she purred, thrilled that he had certainly lost the timidity of the night before.

They had fallen asleep in each others arms spent, Bill falling asleep with a smile of contentment on his lips. Fleur too had fallen asleep almost immediately and she too had been smiling, happy at the thought that this lovely young boy, now a man, would awaken to a world that would seem so different and his place in it would be as assured as his manly confidence was bolstered by this very simple act of consummating his passions.

Now here he was ready to take the lead, to instigate the act. Fleur smiled to herself, William is going to make Caroline a very lucky woman she thought as she closed her eyes, losing herself to his soft sensual lips running down her neck to her breasts. He was a quick learner, recognising how this seemed to excite her just as much as him. When she began to groan a little he took his hardness in his hand and without hesitation slid into her and began moving, thrusting gently but slowly at first, replicating his actions from the night before, teasing her now as she had teased him.

He would never forget how she had taken him to the edge and bought him back only to take him there again and how the excitement of the prolonged act had made him feel. Now he wanted to do the same thing for her, to make her feel that special feeling that he had felt, that feeling that something was about to explode within you, to burst through your body and you couldn't wait but then to slow it right down to build it back up with more force than you felt that you could endure. He wanted to make her feel that and to see her face as he took her to that place of delighted release.

Fleur's lips parted as she ran her small pink tongue out in her excitement. Her eyes were glazed and he recognised that look, he had seen it twice last night and it excited him all over again, sending a wave of heat through him that made him throb. He nuzzled her gently with his face pressing tightly against her velvet soft cheek. His mouth clamped on to hers and he locked her in a kiss that was like a wild ride, his thrusts becoming deeper, more animated and penetrating down to her very special place of rapture until neither one could stem the tide of release.

'Are you hungry?' Fleur asked Bill after they had lain together in the after glow of their morning encounter? He had kissed her and held her to him, instinctively feeling the need to connect to her on a more personal than sexual level after they had both reached their peak. She was touched by the thoughtfulness in this young man, his intuitive recognition of her need for that human contact on an immediate basis was something special, something that was normally found wanting in most of her clients. She was smiling to herself as she thought about this, he was really such a tender, sweet lad and her heart went out to him.

'I am famished' he admitted, 'umm… you sure work up an appetite doing … umm, well you know' he said candidly, sheepishly grinning at her. She laughed and getting out of bed, she picked up a sheer chiffon and lace peignoir, so transparent that Bill rolled his eyes at the sight of it. He watched her as she made her way over to a bell pull and within moments there was a discreet knock at the door. For modesties sake the bed was placed out of the line of sight of anyone at the door so Bill could only see Fleur being handed a heavy tray and the door closing quietly.

He bounded out of bed immediately to take the tray from her, his stomach growling as the scent of ham, eggs, hotcakes and other delicacies assaulted his nostrils. 'Come' she said as she made her way back to the bed and climbed in, taking the tray from him as he too climbed back onto the bed and sat at her feet, the tray in between them, a sheet pulled over him to cover himself. Fleur lifted the silver dish covers to reveal enough food to feed and army.

Bill had been right, there on a huge dish was fried ham swimming in gravy, a selection of eggs, over easy, scrambled or poached in some kind of Cajun sauce that was flavoured with spices and garlic. There were hotcakes too and corn bread, biscuits, some kind of greens that he wasn't familiar with, joy of joy a pot of hot coffee with dishes of sugar and cream, glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice and a pitcher of syrup next to a dish with a mountain of butter for the hot cakes, all set out on a finely embroidered linen cloth, delicate fine bone china and gleaming silver ware too and finishing off the setting was a small vase with a single red rose sitting in a slender crystal bud vase.

Whipping the rose out of the vase Bill handed it to her, 'That is how I will always picture you, like a beautiful flower, my Fleur' he said rather emotionally, taking her hand in his and kissing it tenderly. She smiled softly at him and caressed his face. He was remarkable for one so young she thought.

They sat there eating for some time, Bill doing justice to all the dishes as only the young can do with a healthy appetite. From time to time Fleur would cut up a morsel and delicately feed him from her fork or he would do likewise for her. It was a revelation for Bill that something as mundane as breakfast could be so very intimate and personal. When not concentrating on eating he was watching her every move, wallowing in the moments with her.

Normally for Bill, breakfast was something to be eaten with a purpose before starting the day of hard work now that his schooling had finished. He would eat a substantial breakfast to keep him going for the long work day ahead out on the farm, the house maid packing him a cold lunch to take with him out into the fields but really not having anything hot and filling again until he came in at dusk to wash up then sit with the family for supper in the dining room. So this, this breakfast with all its finery and all the time in the world to linger over it, was such a luxury that for the rest of his mortal life he would think of this morning every time he had the time to sit down at a table for breakfast. He had never enjoyed any meal in his life as much as he did this one.

Finally having had his fill, Fleur moved the tray onto a table near the door and they sat together on the bed sipping their coffee. He had watched her as she had moved across the room to the table with the tray, his eyes following her every move. He was still pinching himself, she was so beautiful, her long golden hair flowing down her back to her small waist, her full breasts moving with a life of their own as she walked back smiling to him and climbed back into bed. His thoughts turned to Caroline and what it would be like share a morning such as this with her, to hold her, to make love to her, to marry her and god willing, to give her children. There was nothing more that he wanted in all his young life than to give her children and watch those children grow into fine adults themselves.

'What is it, what are you thinking?' Fleur asked as she watched the expression on his face change, soften some how. He took her breath away with his innocence. He was like some beautifully carved Adonis, perfectly proportioned and moulded, his face a gift. She shook her head at her thoughts and fancies. 'I was just thinking of love' he said a little embarrassed to have been caught out in his reverie. 'Tell me about your sweetheart, your… lover' he said softly to her 'that is if that is all right and you want to.' He was looking at her so caringly that although she normally never spoke of her private life to those she shared her bed with, in William's case she made an exception.

'How did you meet?' he asked her. Fleur thought for a moment before speaking, debating whether or not to share her innermost personal moments but she felt some how connected to him and was willing to trust him. 'I had been out on my night off with Clarice, one of the other girls. We were coming home but she was detained so foolishly, I left on my own. I know…' she looked at him embarrassed 'it is not the done thing for a girl to do, to be unaccompanied at night walking through the streets, but I had done it before I came here out of necessity, so I was not scared and as for the morality of it well, I figured god would see to forgiving me seeing he had chosen to take my family and leave me on my own.'

She was not bitter as she said this, she just stated it as though it was a fact that she had accepted but Bill felt for her never the less. 'I was some way from home still' she was saying, 'when I suddenly felt scared. I don't know why at the time but I just got the feeling that I was being followed or watched. Silly really but there it was and in my fright I began to panic and I ran.' She was telling him this now with a far away look on her face, reliving the experience as though it had only just happened. 'In my panic I turned the corner and that was when I ran into him, my beautiful, wonderful lover. There he was in front of me, just like it was meant to be and I ran straight into his arms.'

She was glowing as she told him all this, her face lit with a beauty that stunned William. Love was pure and plainly written all over her face. 'It was meant to be, I know that now because it was so silly, there was no one behind me when I turned and looked as he held me. He was so nice to me, asking if I was all right, what was the trouble and could he help me. It is odd but I can't really recall too much of the walk home, I know that he must have escorted me home to make sure that I was all right but then the next thing that I knew was he was gallantly kissing my hand at the door and asking my permission to see him again, to call on me if I liked and if Madame would permit.'

'I must have explained my situation to him but I can't seem to remember that for some reason, I guess that I was over excited from the event and my scare. He is worldly and understands what I do and does not mind. He visits me when ever he gets the chance but he has many businesses that keep him away, I don't get to see him as often as I would wish' she said sadly. 'But when he does come to me, then the night just flies by, one moment we are in each others arms, the passion making us fly then the night is over and I am back here in the blink of an eye.'

'You love him don't you?' Bill questioned. She nodded, 'He is my whole world.' He understood that feeling, that was how he felt for Caroline, he would do anything to love her and protect her from the harms of this world, to keep her safe, to give her everything in his power to give her. She had his heart and his soul but he wanted to give her the world. His young heart understood exactly how she felt for her lover, don't all of those who love feel like this, this terrible need to hand our hearts on a platter to those that we think are our soul mates. We are all vulnerable to this crazy, insane, inexplicable thing called love that possesses us and turns all rationality on its head, throwing sensibility out of the window.

'Does he love you?' he asked her urgently, for some reason it seemed important to him. He wanted this beautiful sweet girl to be happy, to have the kind of happiness that he felt someone as caring as she was deserved.

She smiled demurely, nodded emphatically and went on, 'He tells me we are bonded and that nothing can break that bond, nothing' she said with pride now, her eyes shining as she spoke. 'He is not from here, did I tell you that, my Eric is from another country and has come here to make his fortune and I can only guess that he has done very well for himself. He is beautiful and he is my life, my lover. One day, when the time is right, he will come and take me away and we will be together always. For all eternity he tells me' she whispered.

The morning had flown by as they had been sitting there on the bed, Bill listening to Fleur recount her love for her Eric, both lost in another world of love and longing for those who held their hearts. They shared their inner most secrets together for their futures, talked of love and all things pertaining to the heart and it was not until a discreet knock on the door broke into the conversation that they realised the time.

A note addressed to Bill had been placed under the door. Fleur retrieved it and handed it to him. It was from his Father and as he read it a smile creased his lips then a small whoop of delight escaped them as he folded the note and looked at her. 'Papa is busy on some business for the rest of the week and he tells me that he has arranged with Madame Michelle for you to …' he swallowed 'entertain me as he puts it, for the rest of my time here until he is free. He says that you will be able to show me around and take me visiting all the local sites, that it has already been arranged.' He was smiling gleefully. Anticipating her reactions to be favourable, he jumped across the bed to her and smothered her in kisses laughing.

'What shall we do first?' he asked her expectantly, his enthusiasm bubbling in his almost child like demeanour. Laughingly, she again got out of bed and pulled the bell cord, the response to her summons almost immediate. She then went over to a small screened area and retrieved a lush silken purple robe and handed it to him, gesturing to him to put it on as she collected his crumpled clothes and left them by the door.

Bill slipped into the soft folds of the robe, the feeling of silk on his skin an unexpected delight as he sat on the sofa watching Fleur busying her self with this and that. Another quiet knock on the door heralded the entrance of Antoine the large doorman cum factotum carrying a huge copper hip bath adorned with cherubs floating over the depiction of two lovers laying entwined in the midst of a passionate coupling. Antoinette, Antoine's younger sister followed in his foot steps carrying cans of hot water, carefully pouring them into the bath that had been set beside the bed before retreating and repeating the process again and yet again until filled.

Once alone, Fleur moved to her dressing table and picked up a mixture of elegant glass bottles full of different coloured potions. She added drops of this and that from each bottle that she had selected, dripping them into the hot steaming water in the bath. The room was instantly filled with the most wonderful fragrance that Bill had ever smelt. He could not describe it but it was like sunlight and flowers, spices and musk all rolled into one. It was heady, exotic, intoxicating and wildly erotic and it sent his young mind reeling. It was the most seductive scent he would ever come across and his most memorable bar one, the smell of his future children as he cradled them but that was the future and this is now and to him, as he sat there in this room with this beautiful flower of a girl, nothing could compare.

'Take off your robe' Fleur purred, 'I am going to bathe you.'

 

                                                                            

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fleur continues Bill's education, taking him to experiences and places that will be a foundation for the rest of his many years to come.

Fleur slipped Bill's robe from his shoulders and ran her hands along the muscles in his neck and down his back, wrapping her arm around him she then led him over to the bath. He stepped in and sank into the hot fragrant water stretching his body and relaxing as the heat permeated through him. He had to admit that he was aching a little from all the physical exertions of the previous night and morning, he had used muscles that he was not used to using, well not for the same purposes anyway and he was loving just lying there soaking in the soothing water.

She took a large sponge and lathered it with perfumed soap from an ornate dish shaped like a shell that she had taken from her wash stand. 'Lean forward,' she gestured as she ran the soft sponge over his shoulders and down his back, moving in small circular motions as she gently sponged him. Once finished she gave him a little nudge and he leant back, stretching out his legs. Taking one arm at a time she ran the sponge up his arms, across his chest and down the other, talking to him as she did. 'You know William no women wants to smell the days labours on her man, cow manure and horse sweat does not belong in the bed room so you just remember that and you will find Caroline appreciative of your sensibilities towards cleanliness' she was saying as she ran the sponge up his out stretched leg.

 

                                                                        

Bill had been laying there with his eyes closed enjoying the sensations of her administrations to him and trying to ignore the stirring in his loins that were the results but when she moved up his leg to his inner thigh, well he couldn't stop the jerk of his body and opening his eyes he looked down to see his hardness bobbing out of the soapie water. He bit his lips and tried to ignore her hands as they moved up his other leg and again moved to his thigh. He gave a small thrust and she dropped the sponge into the water, her hand moving to something more substantial than the soft sponge she had been using.

'You must think me a monster' he breathed heavily with excitement as she stroked him. 'I think you are wonderful' she purred delighted with him, her hand moving down the length of him and stroking him more rapidly now. Here was another first for him. He was of course used to pleasuring himself, he had been doing it for years but to feel her soft small hand wrapped around him, that was a totally new sensation and one that he had never expected. 'Do you like that?' he asked her breathlessly, unsure if it was the done thing to ask questions like that but feeling that he needed to know. 'Yes William, I like to feel you. I like seeing your excitement and I like to pleasure you.'

Her voice telling him these things, these secret things, sent waves tingling through him. 'I want to pleasure you,' he said as seductively as he could, a tiny smile curving the corner of his lips, and he suddenly stood. She was taken by surprise but was none the less pleased that he would be so considerate of her feelings and she determined that the time was right for another lesson for the young William. Retrieving a large soft towel from the bed where she had left it handy, she began to dry him off slowly working over his body as she did so, leaving his upright staff standing to attention against his stomach until last as she very careful caressed it with the soft fabric while she teasingly patted him dry.

She took his hand and walked him over to the bed but instead of climbing in she turned her back on him and bent forward a little, offering herself to him. He caught his breath as he looked down her body to her firm rounded buttocks. He needed no invitation, her posture invited exploration and he moved up behind her, a little unsure of himself but going on instinct, he managed to guide himself into her. He quickly became mesmerised by the sight of him self gliding in and out of her with each thrust, thoughts flying through his head. He could not take his eyes away.

She parted her legs a little wider and took one of his sensual hands in hers and began touching herself with it, showing him where to touch to bring her pleasure and fulfilment. Bill's other free hand automatically found her breast as he wrapped his arm around her, searching for her stiffened nipple before stroking and teasing it.

Holding her tighter to him, the movements of each thrust penetrated deeper into her and found that other special place of joy. 'William' she moaned as he moved his hand in time with each thrust, stroking her with his fingers and delighting in her wetness. Never could he have ever imagined something as erotic as this, never imagined that a girl would like this and feel this way.

'Oh William,' Fleur panted and she turned her head and searched for his lips so that he had to pin her even more tightly to reach them. Moving as one now, their lips locked awkwardly but in their passion they did not care. They were like one body writhing in their desires for each other, for fulfilment, for completion as he plunged into her and fondled her, tiny grunts escaping his lips matching the motions of his hips. 'William, William' she was moaning softly into his mouth, firing them both until an explosion of shattering sensations took them flying.

Bill's senses were reeling as he leaned against her panting, his heart racing and his body jerking with the electric after shocks of orgasm. He ran kisses lightly down her neck and back, tenderness flowing from him for this wonderful angel of a girl. Never in his wildest dreams could he have ever imagined that he could do this and that it would bring so much pleasure to a girl. He just couldn't wait to be married to Caroline and to pleasure her like this, to see her face with the same look of rapture he had witnessed on Fleur's face.

When they had both regained their composure she called for more hot water, the bath completely stone cold now and as it was getting on for mid after noon, they bathed together then she advised a nap was called for. Bill had not had a mid afternoon nap since he was a child and was about to protest when he was hit by a wave of fatigue, the exertions of the previous night and now today catching him out and he had to stifle a yawn. They curled up together holding each other and both were asleep in a matter of moments.

The rest of Bill's week with Fleur passed in a blur of discovery, enlightenment and pure joy for him. After they finally awoke from their nap they had dressed, his clothes being freshly laundered and pressed, and Fleur had taken him to dinner. If Bill had been impressed by the folk he had seen dining at the hotel the night before he was giddy with the variety of spectacularly beautiful and elegant acquaintances that Fleur introduced him to each night that they dined out. She took him to all the right places to dine and dance, proud to be seen with such a handsome man as she thought him to be.

The food was a pure revelation to Bill, it was sumptuous. She broadened his palette with every kind of delicacy that you could imagine, everything from the Creole staple of Red Beans and Rice, traditionally made on Monday wash day and cooked in the pot all day to allow the ladies to do their washing chores after a big ham diner on a Sunday. Then there was Gumbo that was more like a soup than a stew and was swimming with Crawfish and thickened with Okra. He discovered that he loved Jambalaya too, the sausage, vegetable and rice equivalent to Spain's Paella.

He loved the heat of the spices, the bell peppers, onion and celery bases, everything in fact that seemed unusual and exotic to his plain simple cooking at home. And lord the Cajun popcorn, shrimps cooked in some kind of spicy batter coating and Blackened fish, grilled scallops with a Remoulade sauce and the list went on and on. Then there were the deserts, he couldn't get enough of Bread Pudding with Bourbon sauce and a Bourbon Chocolate cake and his ultimate favourite Red Velvet cake, which was quite simply to die for. With the appetite he worked up from his love making, he ate anything and every thing and revelled in it. 'You will get as fat as a pig if you keep eating like that,' she said with a mouthful of cake and giggling at her self. 'Then there will be more of me to enjoy won't there?' he smirked.

They went dancing too. For someone from back water Bon Temps he totally surprised her with his performance. He had a natural rhythm and waltzed divinely. That first night she had taken him to a soiree after dinner. He had been welcomed and admired and many interested glances were cast his way. He held his own in conversations, being well read held him in good stead and when not conversing with a myriad of local high society, he was sweeping Fleur around the dance floor like he was born to it. They danced most of the night away before retiring to make love, slowly, passionately, tenderness permeating the act.

Waking in the morning they breakfasted in bed, Fleur introducing him to a continental breakfast of croissants with the sweet flaky pastries just another taste sensation to add to his experience. There were beautiful china bowls of jam and spreads, cheeses and other accompaniments including a huge crystal dish piled high with a mountain of strawberries and cream that they hand fed to each other, licking the cream and sticky juices off each others fingers. It was exciting and everything excited him, each new sensation she showed him and pleasured him with, held a special magic to it as only a virgin who has been awakened to their sexuality can feel.

In the afternoons she took him calling with her and he sat in animated discussion with many of the acquaintances that he met at the social gathering of the night before, politely sipping tea and eating the delicate morsels served on ornate china handed down proudly throughout the decades. These people were no new comers to the Big Easy, they were well established, perhaps a little elitist but also the back bone of the economy and of the social scene. On days that they did not entertain they held committees to raise money for the poor, the ladies spending their time doing good works while the men earned the money to enable them to live their lives giving back to the community.

Fleur also took him for a cruise on one of the many paddle steamers that plied its trade up and down the mighty river and introduced Bill to cards and in particular to poker. Bill was not a gambler; he had too steady a head to risk his life on the turn of a card. He was deep and a thinker but with Fleur's urging he joined in and quickly got the hang of it. By the night's end he had walked away with the house bank in his pocket, his cool head, straight poker face and innocent looks masking a hidden talent for bluffing and consequently he had won every hand he played, much to his utter amazement.

 

                                                             

'Here' he said stuffing handfuls of notes into Fleur's hold all, 'I want you to have it' he said smiling. 'No William, it's yours.' He looked at her and taking her hand urged her. 'Fleur I want you to have it or at least have some of it. I want you to put it away and when the time comes and Eric comes to take you to go away with him, I want you to buy yourself the best wedding dress that money can buy. After all that you have done for me it would be my pleasure to think that I could do that for you.'

He kissed her hand and looked at her. She had tears in her eyes she was so touched. 'William, I will if that is what would make you happy.' She kissed him on his cheek. If she did not have Eric and he did not have Caroline, she wondered if they would have made a couple together, he was the sweetest most loving of boys that she had ever met and he had a way with his gentle caring nature to him that almost broke her heart with his sincerity. 'You are a beautiful person William, on the inside and the outside. You have such a kind heart.'

With only a few days left before the expected return of Bill's father, the week was drawing to a close but they still had time for a few things that Fleur had planned. She insisted on taking him shopping, his winnings providing ample money to spend on some luxuries to take home with him for Caroline and she took him to all the best shops.

She helped him pick out a beautiful lace shawl for Caroline, something that would make her the envy of all back home when she wore it to church on Sundays and she also made him buy a gossamer thin silk night dress, explaining that he should keep it somewhere safe and give it to her as a wedding present on the night of their marriage. 'Every woman wants to feel special and look alluring, even if she is not sure of herself and what the marriage bed will mean for her, she will see this and know that you will think of her as the most beautiful woman in the whole world, and William, that is what she will be for you.'

When they got back to her room and were unpacking their purchases, Bill unwrapped the night dress from its many layers of perfumed tissue paper and took it out of it box. He held it up to the light, delicately fingering the filmy fabric. Fleur watched him and saw the expression on his face and could read him like a book. Carefully folding it back into its protective layers, he reached over to Fleur and took her in his arms. 'You know what I want don't you, would you like it too?' he rasped, not waiting for an answer as he locked his lips on hers and ran his hands down her neck and into her ample cleavage. 'I want to lay with you again' he whispered into her mouth. 'I would like that William Compton' she responded as she pulled him onto the bed.

On their last night together they once again dined in what was now Bill's favourite restaurant, eating all his favourite foods and drinking champagne before attending a reception where they danced together for the evening, Bill whisking her effortlessly around the dance floor like two enchanted lovers.

When they left to go home the weather had turned. Storm clouds had been threatening all day and with that in mind they had taken a closed carriage as a precaution, the occupants being protected from the unpredictable weather at that time of the year but the driver left to the mercy of the elements and it was just as well that they had for the rain was coming down in torrents and would make the trip home a slow one. It was a novelty to him to be in such a luxuriously appointed carriage as this with its plush upholstery, closed windows and ornate drawn blinds, being so used to the farm wagon or the horse and buggy back home, or even just his bay chestnut stallion Lancelot but this was something new to savour.

Settling in and with Fleur sitting closely beside him, Bill had never seen her look as beautiful as she did tonight. She had made an extra effort for his last night, wearing a gown that she considered to be her best and one that she only wore for her meetings with Eric. She had worn a blend of her exotic oils and with her skin still warm from dancing, her fragrance as she sat so near him simply intoxicated him.

He couldn't help himself, he couldn't wait to get her back to her room and he leaned in and kissed her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fleur and Bill share last moments together before moving on with their lives.

Fleur had been saving one last lesson for Bill for tonight, their last night together and this was such a perfect time, the perfect surroundings and perfect atmosphere. She intentionally deepened their kiss, teasing him suggestively with her tongue knowing full well it would drive him into a flood of desire. Their bodies entwined as his hands reached up under her wrap and fondled her breasts, slipping his long fingers into her bodice searching for her nipples, his lips remaining locked with hers, his tongue dancing in an unmistakeable rhythm of teasing suggestion. She ran her hand down his body searching for his man hood sure that he was hard for her and once finding it, she stroked him as she moved in rhythm with his tongue.

Breaking away from his lips, she quickly dropped to the floor in front of him and deftly undid the buttons of his fly. 'Fleur, what are you doing?' he gasped. 'Shh' she shushed him, running one hand up to his lips, her finger delicately tracing their outline. Recovering from his shock, he held her hand and kissed her tiny fingers. With her other hand she had managed to free him and leaning forward she brushed his tip with the barest of touches before running her tongue out and lightly caressing him.

Bill jerked, he couldn't help himself. The effect she was having on him as he sat mesmerised watching her and feeling what she was doing to him, was like nothing that he had dreamt even in the dreams that he had where he had spilled his seed in his sleep. He was still holding her other hand and as she began to run her tongue down him, he lost his head and taking one of her fingers, he began to mimic her actions, the eroticism of the moment totally taking control of him.

She was kissing his hardened shaft softly, teasing him with her tongue and her lips with her tiny kisses, slowly working her way down then up again. He was making small groaning noises each time she reached the tip and he began to thrust, willing her to take him in her mouth in this moment of madness. He was sucking on her finger now, as though his very act would encourage her to take him, to do the same to him, and then when she finally took him in her hot wet mouth, he throbbed with desire and jerked again.

She was sucking him now and his thrusts increased as his need for release intensified, her mouth and tongue matching his rhythm. 'Oh Fleur' he rasped, his voice spurring her on. She felt his need, she needed him too but she could wait, this was his time for pleasuring and she increased her teasing until he shuddered with final release, spasms wracking him as he sat panting, so intense was his experience that he could not speak for some moments.

 

                                                                        

Every single experience that she had shown him he had never really dreamt could be so pleasurable, he had never really even admitted to himself half of the things that he had done would be acceptable to a girl. He was an innocent in an innocent age where men were chivalrous and women considered being too maiden like to have any kind of the same wants or desires. Fleur had shown him other wise and taught him so much, given of her self tirelessly he thought.

While laying arm in arm in bed on that last night, a myriad of thoughts had gone through Bill's mind. He loved Caroline with all his heart but he would never forget Fleur and in his own way he loved her too. She was his first and you never ever forget your first. He had so very much to be grateful to her for. With each new experience he had felt every emotion under the sun and he had to keep pinching him self to make sure that this was not some kind of dream.

'May I … may I write to you Fleur,' he asked her as he lay stroking her soft silky hair while she lay in his arms curling his chest fluff around her fingers on their last morning together. 'Oh William I would like that and please promise me that you won't think ill of me if I ask you to send me just a note, something small and let me know how your wedding night goes, that's if you don't mind.' She was a little hesitant but she felt such a bond to him that she really wanted to know that it was as beautiful for him and Caroline as she knew that it would be for her and Eric when the time came. 'I would be honoured,' he replied, his young face taking on a serious continence.

Discreet knocking on the door broke into their reverie, Antoine whispering a few hushed words to Fleur summonsing Bill to the down stairs parlour where his father was waiting in attendance with Madame Michelle. Finally their last few moments together had come and Bill was almost lost for words.

Taking her in his arms he kissed her tenderly. 'You do know that I love you don't you' he whispered into her ear. She nodded and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. 'I will always love you too my William, you are special and what you and Caroline will have together, may it bring you the same happiness that Eric and I are to share, for ever and ever.' She turned away so he would not see her tears falling down her cheeks.

When Bill had said his last farewell he turned and walked down the hallway on his own this time, the first time in his life as a man. He walked into the parlour to be greeted by this father and Madam, the change in him noticeable to them both. He carried himself not as the young innocent country lad that had come here so naïve only days ago. No, in his place his father saw a burgeoning confidence, a quiet dignity that was yet to be fulfilled but was there never the less and simply waiting to be given the opportunity to flourish. Fleur had planted the seed and life would provide the ground for it to grow.

Over the months after his return to his home, Bill wrote to Fleur regularly providing her with news of his life and of his courtship with Caroline. Likewise she wrote notes about the events in her life too, telling him of her undying love for Eric and the things that they did when he came to town which was less and less frequently now, always pleading his business as his excuse for his absence.

A little over a year after his return to Bon Temps Bill wrote to Fleur to tell her of his joy, finally he was to be married. A week before the wedding he received a note from Fleur full of joy for his coming betrothal and with much happiness, she told him that she too was to be married. Eric had finally told her he was coming to get her within the next two weeks. 'So my William, by the time that you get back from your honey moon I too may be on mine but I will still expect to hear from you. You still must tell me of your wedding night' she had pleaded.

Bill wrote to Fleur from the hotel he and Caroline stayed at in Shreveport on their honeymoon. He told her how Caroline, blushing and full of love had been enthralled by his wedding gift to her and how their wedding night and marriage bed bought them both passion and joy and more. He spoke tenderly of the consummation of their love for each other, his heart so full of happiness and he begged she write him soon to tell him too of her marriage and happy tidings. He wished her all the joy in the world and hoped that she too would be as in love with Eric as he was with Caroline and that they would be soul mates in eternity together.

 

                                                       

It was some three weeks later that Bill received a letter from New Orleans addressed to him but it was not in Fleur's delicate hand writing, it was from Madame Michelle. He was sitting on the front porch that evening with Caroline and his father, the young couple making their home in the big house, Caroline fulfilling the role of dutiful daughter in law and taking up the daily household chores as though born to run a large farm.

Bill's father looked up from his perusal of the local Bon Temps Gazette when he heard Bill's gasp and saw the look of utter dismay on his face. 'What is it son?' Bill shook his head unable to speak from shock and not wanting to alert Caroline to anything untoward he simply said 'I have just had some bad news about one of our acquaintances from New Orleans Papa,' and getting up he wondered off into the garden to gather his thoughts.

 

                                                               

It was not until he was sure he was totally on his own and away from the house that he had time to reflect on the news Madame Michelle had so painfully made him aware of. Tears blinded him as he tried again to read the letter in the moonlight but it was no use, he could not focus and he did not want to focus. His thoughts were too painful.

The letter had simply said that Fleur was dead.

He stood quietly sobbing as he went over the note in his mind. Madame had said that Fleur had left with Eric, a picture of happiness on her wedding day but three days later her body had been found on the bank of the mighty river. She did not go into details except to say that it must have been some terrible accident for she was marked about her neck and thigh and unfortunately it was feared that the same fate had befallen Eric as he was no where to be found and the authorities feared his body had been swept down stream.

He could not bear to think of it, her beautiful body that she had given so freely to him and her caring spirit, gone now, never to experience the happiness that a long marriage would bring. She would never have her living eternity with her Eric but then he smiled a little, god willing the two lovers now husband and wife, would be joined in true eternity in heaven. It comforted him to think that, for he wanted her to be as happy as he was with Caroline, to know the joy of sharing year after year with each other, the possibility of children, then growing old together and watching their children's children growing. For Bill, that was how he imagined heaven to be.

Bill thought too of the conversation that he had with his father on their way back home after leaving New Orleans when he had the first real man to man conversation on an adult level that he had ever had with his Papa. The events of the previous week with Fleur and the realisation that his father too had known Madame in the same way as he had come to know Fleur, had made him thoughtful and he now had the confidence to broach the subject.

'Did Mama know Father?' Bill asked curiously. 'Son, your mother and I had no secrets' he said looking Bill in the face 'but sometimes when you love someone, love them with all your heart and would do anything to protect them from any kind of hurt, then son you have to look into your own heart and decide whether or not to protect them from the truth. You will make Caroline a fine husband William, when the time is right and that day may never come, but if it does, you will know what to tell her,' he fondly patted Bill's hand. Bill nodded not really surprised by the fact that his father knew about Caroline, after all that had happened that week he doubted if he could be surprised by anything anymore but he understood what he was saying.

He would never tell Caroline, she would never know. No one would ever know but, if he was lucky enough to ever have a son of his own, then one day he liked to think that he would find his own Fleur or Michelle as his father had, and just as his own father had done for him, he would take his son on a business trip that he would never forget and that he too would return from it, a man.

Fleur was gone now, he thought sadly but for as long as he lived he would never forget her, the precious gift of confidence she had given him and, he would always treasure her letters so full of hope.

Post Script

Some time after Bill had not returned from the war, Caroline still grieving, was cleaning out the attic of the big house when her young Thomas found her crying over some old letters she had found discreetly hidden in an old chest at the back of the attic room. 'Mama what is it, why are you sad?' Caroline looked up at her son, the very picture of Bill with his hair so auburn, just like Bill's before he got older and it turned dark, his blue eyes staring at her filled with love and concern. He was the picture of his Pa at that age and a comfort to her in her hours of need.

'I am not sad my pet, Mama has just found some letters of your Pa's and they have made me so happy that I was crying with joy, that's all chicken. Now you go down to the yard and see if Minas has hitched the buggy, we are due at the Stackhouse's for supper at six. Run along now and I will be down in a minute,' she smiled at him. It was a blessing that Minas had stayed on after the war, he helped her so much and gave Thomas a male figure to look up to and guide him. Nothing made up for him missing Bill but … no, she couldn't think of that, her sorrow was too raw.

Caroline had found Fleur's letters and the letters that he had sent to Fleur that Madame had found when sorting through her effects and had returned to him. Fleur had left her belongings to be collected once she and Eric returned from them honeymoon, before embarking on their married life.

Like any woman would be, Caroline was hurt and shocked at first by what she saw as Bill's betrayal of her but as she read through them she began to change her mind. There was not one single letter that Bill had not thanked Fleur and professed his unrelenting happiness and excitement for his courtship and coming marriage. He had written pages and pages to this girl about his love for her and how completed he would feel when finally he could bed her and perform his manly duties to her with confidence and knowing that he would know how to please her. That was what he wanted more than life itself, to bring happiness and joy to his beloved.

Then she had found the letter telling him of Fleur's demise on her wedding day, for upon investigation, no marriage records could be found and speculation led all to believe they had been on their way to take their vows when some accident occurred. How full of tragedy life was, how bitter sweet for Fleur to have fallen victim to such circumstances. She had read her letters so brimming with the same love for Eric that she and Bill had shared with each other, and her heart had been touched by this unknown girl.

No, she thought to herself, she could not be hurt or angry, without the kindness and tutelage from this caring child Bill would not have been the same and she did not want to think of Bill as any different from the boy, and then the man, that she had loved with all her heart and born children to only to loose him.

They were both gone now, her Bill and his Fleur, but she just had to believe that somewhere, somehow, Fleur was with Bill taking care of him until she too met her death and she could join him once again as husband and wife and they could be together as they had always planned, loving each other for all eternity.

Before getting up and going down to find Thomas and young Sarah, she made a promise. Holding the bundle of letters in her hand she promised Bill and Fleur that one day when the time was right, when she felt in her heart that he was ready, she too would find another Fleur or Michelle and take Thomas on a trip that would change his life and set him on the road to manhood.

'This I promise you both.'


	7. Chapter 7

Epilogue

'Darling, I want you to look your best tonight. I think the black broad cloth and your white silk ruffled shirt will do fine. You will be meeting some of my friends from the old world and I want to be proud of my progeny my darling. Just be yourself William and they will love you' Lorena purred as she ran her hand down Bill's chest, looping her fingers into his belt buckle suggestively. Bill's fangs ran out, lust creeping through him like a cold wind, icy through his veins. With vampire speed he had her on the bed, her robe pulled apart as he threw her on her back and he crushed her to him, despising himself as he did so but unable to stop himself, the need for her darkness too strong for him to overcome once he had given in to it.

It hadn't always been like this for Bill. That first year after Lorena had turned him had been a nightmare of denial and ultimate despair for him as a newly made vampire but the turning point had come on that fate filled night he had returned home to find his beautiful boy Thomas dead and Caroline loosing her mind when she saw him for what he was. It was the lowest point in his short history of darkness and he had no where left to go and no one to turn to other than Lorena. She had told him home truths that he had not cared to face but that night the reality of his new existence had stared him in his face and he had to accept it or face the ultimate and taste true death.

Lorena had saved him from himself and for a short time he was grateful to her that she had and with that gratitude he had fallen for her, seeing her in a new light. It had not lasted long, well not long in the scheme of a vampire's life but there it was and there was he, enamoured with her charms, physically besotted with her body but not her mind or her heart. She seduced him daily, her body was the drug that became his addiction, and he had to have his fill or go mad. He was brutal, he was dark and he was cold. He despised it and loved it, craved it and abhorred it but above all, he was dependent upon it.

Once spent Bill climbed off her, turning his back on her, continuing on with his dressing as though every thing was quite normal and nothing had occurred. Lorena watched him as he dressed, studying him. If she was upset it did not show, she was made of sterner stuff but inside, in that heart of darkness she harboured a ridiculous longing for him to just once look at her with something other than lust in his eyes. She desperately craved the look that she has seen on his face when he had looked at Caroline his wife, she wanted his love. Vampire or not, she was a woman and a woman in love if that was possible for one of her kind, but she would never ever let her William see that, not for as long as she existed would he know how very much she loved him and had loved him from the very first moment he had walked into that miserable little hell hole of a cabin in the backwoods of Bon Temps.

That she had never cared for anyone except herself before that night was patently obvious from the corpses strewn about the place but that night William had stumbled in half starved, dying of thirst and fatigue and had been so noble, so gallant with his desire not to sully his wedding vows and reunion with Caroline, she had recognised the quality of the man. She had instantly been captivated by his obvious loyalty, the dignity and manners with which he treated her. She could not let him go, she wanted him, and he was hers from that moment.

She sighed frustrated as she lay there watching him, looking back on the past decade. He had come a short way along the path of darkness but there were many years yet before he would fully accept their way of life. Bill looked at her sharply. Through the bond he could feel her but could not make out her mood. That he didn't try too hard was just a small pang in her heart that festered within her but that too, she hoped, would at some time change.

Getting up she shrugged off the moment and dressed with Bill's assistance. Really he was quite adept at the intricacies of corset lacing, his long sensuous fingers nimbly handling the strings and ribbons with dexterity. He was also a boon helping with her long hair. He loved nothing more than to sit with her brushing it for hours until it crackled with electricity from all the brush strokes, only the pull of dawn ending the process. He had done this with his sister he told her, one of the few things he had shared of himself and his human life, normally such a closed book to her.

Finally dressed, Lorena threw on her evening cape and Bill his black silk cloak before leaving their apartment, the carriage waiting patiently for them at their door to take them to a part of the French quarters that Bill was more than a little familiar with having been there decades before as a young lad but under very different circumstances.

Memories flooded through Bill as the carriage made its way through streets long ago traversed. Another time, another life flashed up before his eyes. He gritted his teeth together not wanting to think of it, to think of her, his Fleur with her youth and zest for life, her kind, caring and compassionate beauty. A small bloody tear misted his eyes as the carriage past the house that had once belonged to Madame Michelle and he turned is head away so that Lorena could not witness his emotional state but she could feel him through their dam blood bond and she turned to him alarmed.

'What is it Bill, what is the matter?' she questioned him sharply, her voice cutting through his memories and bringing him back to the here and now. 'Nothing, it is nothing, just remembering a friend I once knew when I was young who lived here. Leave me be' he snapped. Lorena had been with him throughout all his angst filled nights since turning him but she had never felt this feeling of sadness that she could right now. It was different to what he had felt at the loss of Thomas or even Caroline when he had turned his back on her, it was some how similar to those in their older years looking back and pining for their lost youth. She said nothing but in an uncharacteristic act of compassion for him, she rested her gloved hand on his arm and patted him soothingly. It was one of the few compassionate acts that Bill could ever remember her making towards him and for once he appreciated her attempt.

The carriage finally came to a halt in a circular gravelled drive within a large gated garden, the huge brightly lit mansion sitting in the middle of an enormous plot of land looked expensive, and impressive. Bill climbed out while a footman dressed in full regalia, including satin breaches and powdered wig was there immediately to hand Lorena down from the carriage to Bill standing patiently waiting to take her hand and escort her up the ornate marble steps with the richly carved wrought iron hand railing that led to the impressive double doors with their finely cut glass standing open. Warm candle light brightly lit the way sent out a welcoming glow to all those guests and to those that passed the gates and stood in awe at the sight.

Upon entering the large opulent entrance Bill was transported back to something that could quite easily been straight out of a history book of France during the reign of any of the Louie's, the scale of grandeur on a par with Versailles or so Bill imagined. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be a plethora of uniformed staff standing to attention just waiting to be summoned for the guests comfort. A butler led them through the wide vestibule to the grand entrance gallery with its marble check flooring and richly appointed walls dripping with oil paintings that to Bill's untrained eye, looked to be masters of the old world and, all originals.

They were then taken to a huge reception room filled with many of the finest citizens that New Orleans had to offer. Divinely beautiful women literally littered the room along with the most handsome of men. It was a feast of decadence and delight with the brightly coloured jewels of satin and silk gowns of the women and the handsome dark formal attire of the men. Then suddenly it hit Bill that it was more than likely exactly what this was to become – a feast, a human feast. He shuddered slightly but despite himself his fangs ran out a little at the thought, he couldn't help himself much to his shame.

'Lorena my dear' a small man looking to be anything between forty and fifty came gushing over to where they were standing just inside the door way of the large room. He was dressed extravagantly in lilac satin complete with white hose and buckled shoes and bending over her hand with a flourish he went on, 'why my dearest you haven't changed a bit.' He laughed at his own joke and Bill instantly recognised him for what he was, he was vampire. 'And who my dear is this delectable piece of flesh?' he turned to run his eyes over Bill, making him feel like he was naked and vulnerable.

'This is my progeny, this is my William, William Compton' Lorena said proudly as she noticed not just her friend's eyes going over Bill but quite a few sets of eyes, female and male looking with want at him, a tall handsome blonde male over in the corner of the room nearest to them in particular seemed to be fascinated with Bill, his eyes never leaving him for one moment. 'He is MINE,' she said loudly enough for any of those of their persuasion in the room to hear. 'William I want you to meet an old acquaintance of mine from the old country, this is Russell ~ Russell Edgington' she said to Bill.

As was their custom, Bill gave an obligatory nod of his head in acknowledgement to Russell but turned his eyes away not wanting to encourage the older man's interest. Since being with Lorena, Bill's education in all the ways of darkness had broadened his knowledge of many things that he had been shocked to find about the world that he lived in. He was no longer a naïve country bumpkin from rural Bon Temps Louisiana, he could recognise the look of desire for him whether it was from a woman or a man and he was not interested, so he chose to ignore rather then encourage any advances, it just was not in his nature, vampire or not.

Having said that, he knew that Lorena expected him to behave in a way that would make her proud and if that included being polite to Russell then he would have to be or face her wrath, and that was something that he had learnt that he would rather not do. He sighed silently resigning himself to a long night and turned politely again to attempt feigned interest in the conversation. At least for as short a while as decency called for before he could excuse himself on some pretext or other and get away.

'So William tell me, how long have you been an acquaintance of Lorena's?' Russell asked using the term acquaintance as a euphemism for progeny but really he was being subtle and just wanted to know when he had been turned. 'About ten years now isn't it Lorena?' he turned to her with a blank face. 'Why you are only just a child then' Russell said lowering his voice and licking his lips as he looked at Bill with a longing on his face. 'Russell' Lorena warned, her mouth twitching, wanting to bare her fangs at the older vampire in warning but unable to with so many others present. 'He is MINE' she reiterated with a deathly chill to her voice and a smile that would cut through anyone else. 'Don't worry my sweet, I am merely interested for the sake of curiosity, nothing more' and at the moment another man joined the group, giving Bill the once over just as Russell had done.

He was much younger in looks than Russell and extremely good looking in an old world way. He was dark, almost Spanish looking with clear dark eyes and a pouting mouth, white teeth and curling hair and when he spoke his voice had an accent that was pleasant to the ear so Bill found as he listened to him talking.

'Who is this handsome creature?' he asked Russell as he stood there staring at Bill, 'no don't tell me, it is someone you have deliberately bought here to tempt me with Lorena. You really are too bad. I am Talbot' he said turning to Bill and nodding. 'Talbot, Lorena was just introducing me to her… protégé' Russell enthused. 'Darling, charming, quite quite charming I am sure. Perhaps when the dregs have moved on and cleared out a little, later in the evening of course, you would care to join us in our private salon. We have a fine collection that I am sure you would be interested in … sharing in.'

Once again Bill's private thoughts were in turmoil. He had been right, this night and gathering was not all that it seemed to be and the thought revolted him but it also excited him. He was hungry. He despised himself for it but what could he do, he could not fight his nature and as Lorena had said when attempting to instruct him in the ways of his new nature, he had to be patient.

The day would come when with age, the burning unquenchable thirst would dissipate and he would be able to control it and then embrace it. Why with time he could even manage to exist on only a mouthful if he chose to live that way, she had told him more to appease his guilt than anything else even though she knew it to be the truth. Despite the fact that she had never practiced abstinence or as close as you could get to it for a vampire, it was an aberration to her nature and not her way, still it had given William comfort at the time.

The conversation then turned to this and that, old friends back in the old country and places and events that Bill had no knowledge of. He let his mind drift a little as he looked around the room, scanning faces, hearing conversations, snatches of this and that, boring him and not of any interest to him but on the exterior, his face was its usual blank canvass, keeping everything closed within himself until he felt eyes fairly burning holes in the back of his head. Turning casually, he found the tall blonde vampire he had noticed earlier near his side.

Nodding acknowledgment, he stepped a little aside from Lorena, Russell and Talbot's growing group of sycophants. The tall blonde obviously had some interest and Bill's curiosity was peaked, what was it that this creature wanted with him and, he was hoping it wasn't the obvious.

'Eric, Eric Northman' the blonde said with the slightest of accents, giving Bill a piercing look, 'you are William, William Compton?' he asked quietly. Bill froze with a look on his face that could not conceal his horror. Lorena suddenly looked across to where Bill was standing, the sudden rush of his emotions had torn through her and she was taken aback. What could Eric have said that had caused her William to react with such a force of emotion she wondered?

She had known Eric for years, they all had. He had been part of Russell's entourage long before Lorena had been turned. Where they had met she never even really knew. Who knew these things, the years were long and time past besides, Eric and Russell had probably forgotten them selves by now. But still, Lorena stood watching intently. She knew apart from the bond, just by looking at her William just how tense he was. He was seething with emotions and none of them good.

She stood hesitating, would she have to interrupt them in what ever it was that was going on before there was a scene or … no perhaps she would just watch them from a distance and listen, yes she thought, that would be best for the moment but she was on the alert, it would not do for things to get out of hand, not when they were out in public with so many of the finest of the city present.

'You know my name' Bill finally found his voice, practically hissing at Eric, 'but how do you know me?' Eric looked at him, his cool Atlantic blue eyes appraising the younger vampire. 'I have seen your picture many times, but not for a long time now' he replied and something about the tone in his voice caught Bill by surprise, his fury abating a little as he summed up Eric's demeanour. There was something about it that surprised him totally, that he had not expected when he had first been shocked to realise who this creature was and the connection that they shared.

Bill was an astute judge of character, he always had been even as a human and thinking it over coolly and rationally he realised that Eric was just as saddened by the situation as he was. Something was not right. 'Come' Eric said to him, 'perhaps we should talk' he urged him.

It was plain that he had something to say and did not wish to be overheard by others that knew him. Bill being the type of creature that he was thought that despite his initial reaction to meeting Eric, he at least should be given this chance so, he shrugged and nodded. Eric immediately steered Bill over into the now empty corner of the room that he had first noticed Eric standing in.

'Well' Bill almost demanded rather abruptly. 'Fleur…' Eric almost whispered her name and to Bill the years rolled away and he was young again and human and wrapped in her embrace in the large bed that he had lost his virginity in. He was so very in love with Caroline, and full of the love of life stretching before him. The world was new and his for the taking.

He could hear her laugh and see her smiling beautiful face. He could smell her perfume, feel her soft skin, and taste her lips. He could feel the sunlight and see the flowers, the blue of the sky and corn, yellow and ripening before his eyes. Don't look back, it hurts too much his mind kept telling him, and all this from just one word, one beautiful name… Fleur.

Bill looked up at Eric, his eyes red rimmed and saw the same emotions running through him. 'Tell me, tell me what happened' Bill whispered.

As Eric began to talk he stared off in to space, looking back over the years to when he had been visiting New Orleans and out one night in his search for food. As Bill knew from Fleur's explanation of her meeting with Eric, he had met her on this fate filled night. Eric admitted to him that he had seen her and stalked her, then glamoured her but like Bill, he had been taken by her, fallen for her despite himself and despite that it was insanity and unheard of for a vampire to love a human, a mere mortal, he couldn't help himself.

He had tried to stay away from her and thought himself very clever by distancing himself, his time away becoming longer and longer as he thought that he could just get on with his existence but he couldn't and eventually he had to acknowledge that he loved her and he wanted her. His love was so strong for her that he really believed he could make it work, he would glamour her into believing that he had some kind of disease that meant he could not go out into the sun, that he could only work at night and that his type of business meant that he would have work that could be completed in the evening hours, that way he could go out prowling for food and she would be none the wiser.

He wanted to believe it would work, that it must work. He was desperate for it to work. He loved her that much you see, he said sadly, he loved her so very much that he couldn't bear the thought of turning her. 'She was perfect just the way she was,' he trailed off, his eyes red rimmed.

He went on, he had planned it all out carefully, writing to her that he was coming to get her and they would be married. He had even set up a home for them, away from all his other friends of his persuasion. He was going to make a break of it, live as much like a human as he possibly could. He owed that to her, to his Fleur. But then fate or luck or what ever you like to call it stepped in.

'Tell me, I have to know. What happened, what happened to Fleur?' Bill asked urgently.

'Fleur?' a voice broke in, breaking the spell. 'Hmm, now why does that name sound familiar?' Lorena queried as though puzzled, frowning as if trying hard to remember. Eric looked at her with utter contempt before his icy voice coldly replied 'Fleur, you remember Fleur don't you Lorena, don't you? My … friend Fleur' he fairly spat out at her, 'you remember what happened to her don't you?'

'Oh' she said laughing hideously at the sudden remembrance, 'Fleur, why yes,' her voice cut Bill like a thousand knives, tearing his heart to shreds, 'why I remember now when I ran into you that night as you were leaving to go off to god knows where. Fleur, yes' she laughed again.

'She was … delicious.'

Finis ….


End file.
